Bioconversion of biomass to biofuel and bioproducts has great potential to transform the current petroleum based economy to a more sustainable biobased economy. It has been recognized that value added co-products are necessary for economic production of biofuel from plant biomass.
Micro- and nano-cellulose, derived from plant biomass are finding use in an ever-increasing number of applications, e.g., in the production of cellulose films, for use in combination with other materials (e.g., woods, plastics, coatings, adhesives) to alter or enhance strength, flexibility, or other mechanical properties. Thus, micro- and nano-cellulose can be a valuable co-product for biofuel, and vice versa.
Previous work on bioconversion of plant biomass has focused either on maximizing the conversion of cellulose to sugars for the production of fuels, or on maximizing the production of high-value nanofibrillated cellulose while minimizing saccharification.